One or more pipes may be coupled to engine components to carry fluids to and from the engine components. As an example, engine coolant may enter an exhaust turbine via a first pipe and exit the turbine via a second pipe. Each of the first pipe and the second pipe may be coupled to a housing of the engine component via latch plates. Latch plates coupled to each of the pipes may be attached to the housing via a fastener.
However, the inventors herein have recognized potential issues with such systems. As one example, when two latch plates, each coupled to a separate pipe, are attached to the housing via a fastener, the two latch plates may overlap to enable a single fastener to attach each of the latch plates to the housing. Due to the overlapping of the latch plates, relative to the housing, one of the two pipes may be placed higher than the other pipe. Therefore, the geometry of the pipes and the positioning of seals used to hold the pipes in place within the housing may have to be adjusted to account for the difference in placement of the two pipes. Further, during assembly of the pipes to the housing, the latch plates may be placed in a wrong order (such as a first latch plate which is designed to be at the top may be placed below a second latch plate designed to be at the bottom). Attaching the larch plates in the erroneous order may adversely affect the integrity of the coupling due to the geometry of the pipes and the seals being customized for a single attachment configuration. As an example, the seals may not be able to inhibit leakage of fluid in the pipes. Also, misalignment of the pipes with the engine component may cause stress in the assembly, thereby affecting durability of the component.
In one example, the issues described above may be at least partly addressed by a latch plate assembly for coupling pipes to a housing, the latch plate assembly comprising: a first latch plate couplable to a first pipe; and a second latch plate couplable to a second pipe, the first and second latch plates being couplable to the housing, wherein the first and second latch plates are together configured to define a bore at an interface between the first and second latch plates, wherein the bore receives a fastener to couple the first and second latch plates to the housing and wherein the bore has a perimeter, the first latch plate defining a first portion of the bore perimeter and the second latch plate defining a second portion of the bore perimeter, the first portion and the second portion together defining the bore perimeter, wherein the first and second latch plates each comprise a plurality of teeth, wherein the plurality of teeth of one of the latch plates are configured to interface in an interdigitated manner with the plurality of teeth of the other of the latch plates. In this way, two symmetric co-planer latch plates may be used to effectively attach two pipes to an engine component.
As one example, a first latch plate may be coupled (such as welded) to a first pipe and a second latch plate may be coupled (such as welded) to a second pipe. A set of teeth may be formed on one side of each of the two latch plates. In the first latch, the teethed side may define one half of a perimeter of a bore while in the second latch, the teethed side may define the other half of a perimeter of the bore. The adjacent sides of the first latch plate and the second latch plates with the teeth may be interlocked forming a planer surface. Upon interlocking the two latch plates, a bore may be defined at a centre of the planer surface. A fastener may be inserted in the bore to affix the latch plates, each coupled to a pipe, to a housing of an engine component. Pipe connectors may be attached to the ends of the pipes in contact with the respective latch plates. The pipe connectors may be inserted in respective housing ports formed within the housing of the engine component and the pipe connectors may be secured within the housing ports via sealing agents such as O-rings.
According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a latch plate assembly for coupling pipes to a housing, e.g. for a motor vehicle. The latch plate assembly comprises: a first latch plate couplable to a first pipe; and a second latch plate couplable to a second pipe, the first and second latch plates being couplable to the housing, wherein the first and second latch plates are together configured to define a bore at an interface between the first and second latch plates. The bore may receive a fastener to couple the first and second latch plates to the housing and wherein the bore may have a perimeter, e.g. extending about a longitudinal axis of the bore. The first latch plate may define a first portion of the bore perimeter and the second latch plate may define a second portion of the bore perimeter, the first and second portions together defining the bore perimeter. The first and second latch plates may each comprise a plurality of teeth, wherein the teeth of one of the latch plates are configured to interface in an interdigitated manner with the teeth of the other latch plate.
The first and second latch plates may be provided adjacent to each other, e.g. in a side-by-side relationship. The first and second latch plates may not overlap, e.g. in a direction away from the housing, at the location of the fastener bore. The interface may define a plane that cuts through the bore with a longitudinal axis of the bore lying in the cutting plane. In other words, the interface may be in a plane aligned with the longitudinal axis of the bore.
Each of the first and second latch plates may define half of the fastener bore, e.g. a semi-circular portion of the fastener bore perimeter. Alternatively, the first and second latch plates may define different portions of the fastener bore perimeter.
The first and second latch plates may be together configured to define a fastener surface, e.g. about the bore, against which a shoulder of the fastener abuts in order to couple the first and second latch plates to the housing. For example, the fastener shoulder may clamp the first and second latch plates against the housing at the fastener surface. The fastener surface may be defined on an upper surface of the first latch plate and an upper surface of the second latch plate.
The first and second latch plates may be configured such that when the first and second latch plates are coupled to the housing by the fastener, the first and second pipes may be arranged in fluidic communication with first and second ports provided on the housing respectively.
The first and second latch plates may be common components. In other words, the exterior dimensions, e.g. the size, shape and thickness of the first and second latch plates may be the same. Alternatively, one or more of the size, shape and thickness may vary. In some arrangements, bores or other features provided in the first and second latch plates in order to couple to the first and second pipes may have different sizes between the first and second latch plates.
The first and second latch plates may each comprise an interface portion configured to interlock with the interface portion provided on the other of the first and second latch plates, the interface portions of the first and second latch plates forming the interface. The first and second latch plates may be substantially planar. The latch plates may interlock in a plane common to both the first and second latch plates.
The teeth may be straight, e.g. square or rectangular, trapezium shaped, e.g. having a straight edge and a sloped/angled edge or may be saw tooth, e.g. triangular, shaped. The latch plate assembly may further comprise the first and second pipes. The first pipe may comprise a first pipe connector arranged between the first latch plate and an end of the first pipe when the first pipe is coupled to the first latch plate. The second pipe may comprise a second pipe connector arranged between the second latch plate and an end of the second pipe when the second pipe is coupled to the second latch plate. In other words, the pipe connectors may extend from the respective latch plates towards the housing. The pipe connectors may be coupled to the pipes. Alternatively, the pipe connectors may be formed integrally with the pipes.
The pipe connectors may be received within corresponding ports of the housing when the latch plates are coupled to the housing. Alternatively, the pipe connectors may be arranged about the ports of the housing when the latch plates are coupled to the housing. The pipe connector may at least partially receive the housing ports.
The first and second pipe connectors may be the same length. Alternatively, the first and second pipe connectors may be different lengths. The ports of the housing may comprise connecting portions having different lengths in order to accommodate the length of a corresponding pipe connector, e.g. of the pipe that is in fluid communication with the port.
The first and second pipe connectors may each comprise a seal component, such as an O-ring seal, configured to create a seal between the housing and the first and second pipe connectors respectively. The seal component may be configured to engage the corresponding housing port.
The seal components may be spaced apart from the latch plates, e.g. along the pipe connectors, by respective predetermined distances when the pipes are coupled to the latch plates. The seal components may be spaced apart from the first and second latch plates by the same distance. Alternatively, the seal components may be spaced apart from the first and second latch plates by different respective distances. The housing ports may comprise sealing surfaces configured to engage the seal components of the respective pipe connectors.
In some arrangements, the first and second pipe connectors may be configured in the same way, e.g. the size and shape of the first and second pipe connectors, and the positions of the seal components along the pipe connectors may be the same. Hence, the configuration of the housing ports may also be the same as one another. In other arrangements, the size and/or shape of the first and second pipe connectors, and/or the positions of the seal components along the pipe ends may differ between the first and second pipe, e.g. such that the first pipe end cannot be received within the housing port configured to receive the second pipe end and/or vice versa.
A housing assembly for a motor vehicle, e.g. for a radiator, heating, ventilation and air conditioning unit or any other fluid circuit of the motor vehicle, may comprise the above-mentioned latch plate assembly.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method for a latch plate assembly of a motor vehicle, wherein the method comprises: coupling a first pipe to a first latch plate; coupling a second pipe to a second latch plate; arranging the first and second latch plates, such that a bore for receiving a fastener is defined at an interface between the first and second latch plates, wherein the bore has a perimeter, the first latch plate defines a first portion of the bore perimeter and the second latch plate defines a second portion of the bore perimeter, the first and second portions together defining the bore perimeter, wherein the first and second latch plates each comprise a plurality of teeth, wherein the teeth of one of the latch plates are configured to interface in an interdigitated manner with the teeth of the other of the latch plates; and coupling the first and second latch plates to a housing using a fastener provided within the bore.
The first and second latch plates may not overlap at the location of the fastener bore. The latch plates may be arranged such that interface portions of the first and second latch plates interlock at the interface.
The method may further comprise arranging the first and second pipes in fluid communication with first and second ports defined by the housing respectively. The method may further comprise sealing between the first and second pipe and the corresponding housing ports, e.g. by arranging sealing components on connectors of the first and second pipe such that the sealing components engages with the corresponding housing ports.
In this way, by using toothed latch plates to couple pipes to an engine component, the latch plates may be positioned with a coplanar interface and the pipes may be coupled at an equal distance relative to the engine component. Due to the equal distance of the pipes relative to the engine component, modifications to pipe geometry and/or the sealing component may no longer be needed, thereby providing cost benefits. The technical effect of using symmetric, toothed, latch plates for a co-planer coupling is that the possibility of erroneous assembly caused by attaching the latch plates in reverse order may no longer be feasible. In this way, the design of the assembly may ensure reduction in errors caused during assembly.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.